As Nintendo's first high definition console, Wii U will join the neverending, nothing-really-proven debate between the PS3 and the Xbox 360 over which console's visuals for whatever multiplatform game are superior. Some people are convinced it's a bad port, others are convinced it proves inferior hardware.
(Mass Effect 3, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge, Wii U)

I think using them as an example is a bad idea. This big difference there is it was the first time developers really went from SD to HD (big step) on consoles. I think this is more down to lazy porting by the developers. The step from this generation to next isn't as big as it was last generation

Your right comparing ps2 to ps3 is like comparing wii to wii-u. Last console to the next console. Comparing a wii-u multiplat to a 360/ps3 multiplat isnt really saying much. As a port its prob about the same minus a few niggles if dev's arent used to the hardware.

Now if all multiplats are downgraded somethings wrong. If all look far better somethings right. If theyre comparable everythings normal. People shouldnt judge the wii-u against a decked out rig, a ps3, or an atari. Compare it to the wii and see if its a worthy upgrade and see if it has titles you want.

I don't think its exactly "Laziness" but really because its what the name suggests, a "Port." When you port from one set to another without building from the ground up, it will never be like the original. There are a FEW cases that porting over from another console actually benefited, but in most cases I don't see it.

LOL! After all the hype created by Nintendo and their fans by touting the BEST launch line-up EVER, these are the reviews they get. The graphics of this supposedly "next-gen" console are worse than current gen. Moreover, slowly the reality about Wii U is being revealed. We now know that WiiU RAM is slower than 6/7 year old PS360. The 5GB firmware update is bricking consoles. Soon the underpowered CPU and GPU will be revealed as well. Nintendo was hiding the specs and details for this very reason. They were tricking the Nintendo fans into buying this crappy, underpowered and last-gen console.

This is how wiiU games should look in the about a year? accept with 1080p & 60fps. http://www.youtube.com/watc... Don't act like you wouldn't be impressed if that was a wiiU demo. (talk about gameplay if you want I am talking about the visuals.)

and it's off screen.

ps4 is gonna so own wiiU.

Not because of hardware but the great hardware pushing devs nerds that sony has.

@StanSmith - Uncharted 2/3, Killzone 2/3, and Gran Turismo 5 are "real games" with those graphics. What are you talking about? What about The Last of Us? An argument could be made for LittleBigPlanet 2, as well.

Does anyone really think that Wii U shouldn't be thrashing 360 and PS3 from day one, out the box? Certainly I expected Nintendo to build something affordable, but in 2012 that should comfortably beat existing machines while not being too expensive to manufacture.

When you consider the kind of performance you get from a £65/$90 PC graphics card that comfortably beats out the consoles. A Radeon 6670 GDDR5 is plainly faster than 360 and PS3.

You can only pin down so much to this being a new machine and developers being unfamiliar. Indications suggest that Wii U's hardware is fairly standard stuff.

But even taking into account some developer unfamiliarity, Wii U should really be trouncing existing consoles. Really it should, I don't see an excuse why it shouldn't be able to comfortably best a 7 year old console like xbox 360 from day one.

If Nintendo were serious when they said Wii U will keep up with Sony's and Microsoft's next offerings...

I will be interested in following up on the other ports and multi plats Wii U is getting to see how it really compares.

The thing is, based on the dev kits sent to PS4 and Xbox devs, the Wii U will not be able to keep up with the next-gen competition. We've seen this played out before, with the Wii. Also, the hidden costs of the Wii U are a lot. My observations though, you could be correct or I could. The future will tell.

I didn't buy a 360 for nearly two years after it launched. Was underwhelmed with the "leap". But then, games started looking better and better. The final games of PS2/GC/XBOX hardly looked any worse than launch games for 360/PS3.

You can expect the same thing with the wiiU, as far as launch games compare to later games.

The point as I see it is that Mass effect 3 is already like the 3rd game in the series on Xbox 360, and so it is fairly well advanced graphically.

Even so would you expect Wii U to struggle at all with that? When Xbox 360 launched would you expect it to struggle with a straight up port of ANY Xbox or PS2 game? Of course not!!!!!!

Wii U should comfortably run ME3 right away. I mean if you used latest version of photoshop on a 7 year old PC and bought a new PC now- even like a super budget new one, would you expect photoshop to run better?

You would cos it would. Point is even budget 2012 tech is gonna (or should be) be better than premium 2005 tech cos tech moves fast like this.

360 and PS3 didn't thrash Xbox and PS2 out of the box so why would you expect any different for this gen? Not to mention 'not being too expensive to manufacture' have you not heard about the state of the world's economy compared to 2006. Give it time.

@vulcanprojectThe situation is somewhat familiar when you factor the Gamecube on the PS2 era. Early games didn't exactly "blow" away the PS2 not until the Resident Evil series started to flex it's muscles. 3rd party devs really don't place emphasis on system hardware unless they need to be competitive (see Vita).

"360 and PS3 didn't thrash Xbox and PS2 out of the box so why would you expect any different for this gen?"

I'll stop you there as it is fairly obvious this statement is quite, quite insane. You clearly didn't have Xbox or 360 on launch like I did.

Before you even talk about quality of the texture assets in launch games of xbox 360, from the very kickoff it knocked out more than TWICE the resolution of ANY xbox games, even the PAL ones that might be 720 x 540. Straight up there is a quantum leap in fidelity from an Xbox on a SDTV to a 360 on a HDTV.

Even if you pick the genuinely best looking games on the Xbox later in its life, the most powerful console of its generation, and compare it to a brand new xbox 360 launch title.

Sooo...Project Gotham 2? Frankly PGR3 blows it out the water.

Oddworld Strangers Wrath on xbox usually considered a graphical tour de force of the time- Stands up to Kameo does it? Clearly it does not.

What about Black, on xbox in SD. Does that look remotely as good as Call of duty 2 does on 360 in glorious HD? Hilarious anyone suggesting so.

Need I say more to utterly dismember your comment?

Ok, so I never expected Wii U to be a quantum leap like that because I said that in my first post and pointed out about the current economy. BUT like computersaysno said (and I highlighted first post again), even CHEAP new processor technology easily beats up premium modern tech from 2005.

I don't see the excuse for Wii u to do anything less. Any excuses about developers getting to grips with new technology is fairly weak looking at history (in fact 360 had THE fastest launch cycle in console history hows that for devs being rushed), and seeing how fast technology advances and knowing how even cheap modern technology should utterly destroy quality tech back in the day.

Of course what matters is Nintendo's games for this machine. However it is really not impressive if Wii U isn't beating PS3 and 360 comprehensively graphically from day one.

P.S Digitalanalog, PS2 and Gamecube weren't separated by 7 years and a supposed generation....try 18 months.

krisq didn't say vulcanproject's post was fact. krisq said vulcanproject made an accurate observation, and he/she did. The Wii U's launch titles should look better than what's out there now. There should be a noticeable gap. With 6-7 years since current gen consoles launched and developers like Ubisoft who are familiar with HD programming, these games should have been better. I don't know why Nintendo won't just announce what's under the hood already.

PGR3 is a good example of a glimpse at next gen from day 1 for MS and Oblivion Folklore Genji Resistance all did not look like PS2 games for sure. NG3 Wii U was documented in IGN review to look worse than the other 2 consoles. Oblivion PS3 which was a launch title was better looking than the Xbox 360 version so...

+reps bro, best comment. I wanted to say that myself what you said in your 2nd comment about being blown away in terms of next gen title. Even though i didn't try xbox original, but had ps2, i picked up a 50" 720p HD tv back in late 2005 prior to launch of 360. Then went and got a 360 in Jan'06. The leap of graphics from GT4 on p2 to PGR3 was huge. GT4 looked like it was made from razor blades on my HDTV due to extreme aliasing which i never noticed and loved the game and graphics, till i got pgr3. Man the reflection of sun on windscreen which showed scratches, the buildings looked so realistic and the interiors were amazing. I couldn't believe my eyes. Perfect Dark Zero was the bundled game and it was having bump map or normal mapping, these effects i had only seen before in PC games. I never went for the so called computer entertainment system called Ps3 this gen cuz i was in love with the 360 from that time on.

That was one of those rare occasions in my life concerning video gaming when i felt really in awe. I remember it from jumping from C64 to amiga500, PC 386 to Pentium 90 to play need for speed, regular pc chunky/tiled graphics to S3 verge effects of special blurred textures technology called alpha blanding in days of DX1. I remember playing Descent on my pc before i upgraded to 1MB (lol) S3 card and after i installed it and the change it made when i enabled the features of S3TC i was amazed.

You're right this was one of those quantum leap moments in the gaming consoles history. I doubt next gen can give us that level of wow factor.

Resistance has moments and what I mean by that some areas look like 2 different games. Some of the game looks amazing and other parts look old. I think they did not have the specs for the system so the first half of the game does not look as good as the latter half of the game. I have played the game recently actually.

how about both? its a new system so developers will take some getting use to and big publishers want a quick cash in so they will port any game that came out as long as they can charge full price again for a game that came out months ago

why are so many people freaking out about wii-u power? its a next gen system for nintendo and moves the industry forward. Will it beat ps4,xbox720 NO but i don't think that was the goal for Nintendo they want a mixture of casual/core gaming console. Its their first HD home console so not not be excited to be able to play their 1st party games in HD?

stop the hate. ps4 and xbox720 will be more powerful than wii-u for one reason

1. wii-u will be out for about an year or more before either ps4,xbox720 so logically both companies will have time to look at the wii-u tech and make improvements. now granted it maybe 10% more powerful than wii-u which is still more than wii-u. It doesn't mean wii-u will fail or suck it just means like every other device and that is when a new one comes out it makes improvements upon the ones already available

The jump from ps2 to ps3 was a big leap. It was new technology some devs are still having trouble with and it was from SD to HD. So you can't use your argument as RFOM definitely looks better than last gen games. Wii U should be nothing devs have already seen. So either bad port (which I can admit its probably that) or inferior hardware.

What Iamsuperman said. At the start of the PS3/xbox 360 era developers were still building engines and learning new tricks for the HD era. Its 7 years later which means devs have seven years experience with HD graphics. Wii U games will look better as the years go on but no way will you see the kind of leaps that happened between RFOM-UC2.

But those games were built from the ground up for their respective systems. The 2 games mentioned in the article existed and were ported to the Wii-U. If rumors are correct and the Wii-U is as easy to develop for as the original Wii/360 with a bit more power under the hood then we should have had a superior port. Am I wrong?

"1Up, in its review of Mass Effect 3, said the game "seems a lot less visually stable," than the Xbox 360 version"

Console gamers... don't care about graphics.

Wii U will do fine.

@iamnsuperman

You sir need to educate yourself if you think it was the first time developers went HD. Going HD is just a resolution upgrade nothing much. Games have been running on the PC in HD since 1998. Back in those days we were playing close to resolutions of 720p (1024*768). By Early 2000 some people were already playing at 1600*1200 (which is about 1080p). So please do not talk about what you dont know.

Devs can at best optimize a game by adjusting Textures, AA, AF, Res etc. Its something simular to what PC gamers do when configuring their games. For a Dev to get a game to run at 720 @ 30fps on console they would have to play around with these sort of settings. Guess why most console games are a blurry mess with low res textures and hardly any AA? The devs simply set those standards since the hardware cant handle more than this.

By next gen there are plans to make tvs at 4k res, sure the next consoles wont be able to handle it, however the PC will. So yes the jump may not be there for consoles, however for the PC it is. Infact some people already play at resolutions like 5760*1080, which is about 6 times higher than the current console 720p standard.

Lol when people talk HD graphics they don't mean the resolution. Its just a short way of saying all the things in your second paragraph without sounding like a nerdy doucebag. Now when they put 720p or 1080p in front of the HD, then they are talking about resolution.

It wasn't the first time devs used HD resolution heck God of War 2 had a HD resolution unlock but it still looked jaggy and dark. But around that time was when devs started using textures and lighting so the graphics would fit that resolution to give us the best type of picture.

Haters can go stick their heads in a sony or microsoft toilet for all I care. They wouldn't buy Nintendo any ways. They pretend like they care by spaming WiiU articles while PS3/360 articles hardly have comments anymore. They are bored too!

They'll look better than now but resolution or fps won't really go up at all. What will happen is that, once the PS4/720 show up and start showing more power, developers will try pushing the Wii U to pull off more effects to make the games look as much as they can to the competition. Resolution and fps would only get on the way.

the ironyHere is that the same folks talking about Wii U having inferior hardware are the same people trashing Activision and Bethesda for being incompetent for making inferior versions of the same game on the PS3 compared to the 360.

Its sad. Actually. Every console has had graphics fidelity improve over time why would this be any different now? early 360 ports ran inferior to the Xbox/PS2 games as well. It takes time for hardware to be optimized by devs even Nintendo themselves.

I can remember when SMB3 came out for the NES and it blew all other games on that system away graphically. Compare SMW to DKC or Mario RPG of that time. Hell compare Uncharted 1 to Uncharted 3, CoD MW to Black Ops 2.

It feels many of you are just grapsing at straws at this point.

And understand, I'm not even sold on Wii U at all yet.I'm just observing the changing landscape of gaming atm. But the hypocrisy of some supposed gamers is ridiculous. Take of the fanboy goggles for just a moment.

People tend to forget that most launch titles look like shit, especially compared to their later games. Perfect Dark Zero compared to Halo 4 looks like it should of been on the original Xbox. If the Wii U starts off with games that look just as good as PS360 games or even slightly better (Trine 2) then just wait till what we see in a few years when developers really take advantage of the hardware.

Also, it seems people forgot when the 360 first came out people called it the Xbox 1.5 because none of the games looked better than the original Xbox, then Gears of War came out and shut everyone up. Funny how people forget this.

Consider this though. Look at a game like New Super Mario Bros U. 2D platformer with cartoon graphics (not dissing the graphics, that's just a descriptor of the graphic style). A side scroller with a cartoon graphics style is putting almost no load on the CPU, GPU, or RAM. Nintendo spent three years developing the game with a full 1GB RAM, multi core CPU, and an alright AMD GPU. And with all that they STILL couldn't get the game running in 1080p.

I don't get what kind of obstacles they could have run into that stopped them from getting a 2D Mario game running in 1080p after three years of development. It's not the end of the world or anything, just curious as to what could have caused that.

Its a bit of both i think.. Lazy porting as well as complex hardware.. I do wonder how it will port nx gen titles if these arent even equal..

@ luffygumgum, thats not the point here... Wii U should be able to handle NX GEN games out the box if its nx gen.. U wont see PS4 launching with games that look & perform worse than PS3.. Even if PS3/360 launched w ppl thinking it wasnt much of an upgrade, the fact is, IT WAS AN UPGRADE.. whether it was 1.5, 1.3, or 1.1, it was still better

The only way to work around this to achieve parity is invest more time, money and effort into the PS3 version. This effort is needed to extract extra graphical performance from an unconventional method, i.e PS3's CPU.

For developers with a budget equally split for multiplatform games where they want to spend the same on both versions in budget and time, 360 is likely to end up better.

who cares what sony and microsoft critics are saying? real critics who rate these titles say the wii u version is the best. just ask assassin's creed 3, nba2k 13, batman, and ninja gaiden and maa effect. funny how the HONEST REVIEWERS WHO rat these games don't see the jagged edges and muddy graphics... what do they hide themselves from these critics? sorry what ever helps these babies sleep better at night, so waht the graphics are better on wii u GROW UP AND GET OVER IT!

SORRY just not true.. 1080p wasm introduced in 2008, meaning ZERO 360 AND PS3 GAMES RUN IN 1080P because 360 and ps3 do not have the ability to do them, the wii u IS THE FIRST VIDEO GAME SYSTEM EVER TO USE true 1080p.. so by reality not fantasy thinking uncharted DOES NOT HAVE BETTER GRAPHICS THAN WII U'S : COD, ASSASSIN'S CREED 3, NINJA GAIDEN, BATMAN, NBA 2K 13, MASS EFFECT, OR OTHER HARDCORE TITLES.. NOT AN OPINION A FACT!!! and the wii u only uses 30% of its' power right now. so those of us who live in reality know, nothing beats 1080p, the wii u is the only system that has it period.. so reality is on the wii u's side, just deal with it okay?

Its real silly to even attempt to answer this question with questionable ports. If Retro Studios create a game that is not eye popping then we can conclude the Wii U is not next Gen. Retro Studios will be my measuring stick... not some half baked port(s).

You forgot about Monolith Soft. They made Xenoblade, one of the biggest most expansive games I've ever played...on the Wii. If they can make something that puts an PS360 game to shame on an overcloked Gamecube, imagine what they can do with the Wii U. I'm excited for Retro's game (or games) but to me Monolith's next game will be the measuring stick.

very true. xenoblade is actually one of the best console games i have seen this gen.. not just on wii!

i think zombiu was made quickly and on new tech. i even suspect it was originally made for wii, because the graphics look quite basic. But there are other games that show off wiius graphic capabilities better, ie rayman, assassins creed etc

its new tech, a port is not like exchanging data from one hard drive to the next, its a complicated coding job. if you add 'alien' hardware to the mix, off course it will make things difficult.

but, i will say, i am disappointed nothing has 'blown me away' on wiiu yet. especially as even the games from nintendo look simplistic, graphics wise.

I know that the Wii U is a brand new next gen console so it´s pretty obvious that the developers need a little time to get used to the hardware. So while im not expecting any games at launch that will blow the 360 or the PS3 in terms of visuals what i do expect is for all Wii U launch titles to be on par with current gen systems. What that means is that a game like Ninja Gaiden 3 has to look the same or better than either the PS3 or 360 version. If developers can´t manage that with the Wii U than that proves that the Wii U is a pretty weak console and will have no hope in competing with the 360 or the PS3 in terms of visuals.

But i honestly don´t think that Nintendo will release a console that will be weaker than the PS3 or the 360.

Don't forget that most developers have had 6 months or less to port over games. Most games were ported using the old development kits that were not finalized. I would give the Wii U some time before I really judge its graphical capabilities. The Wii U was not design with quick and dirty ports in mind.

And 6 months to port a game is not enough? The Wii-U is supposed to be dev friendly and somehow ports of games that came out a year ago look worse than on 6 year old consoles. You cant really explain that.

6 months is not enough time for a port. I guess you can't really explain to bias fanboys that even on the most powerful hardware, if a game is not optimized it will not run well. See all previous hardware launches for reference.

There's no doubt in my mind that a lot of developers will bring out shotty ports of current gen titles over to the Wii U at launch, just to jump on the Wii U cash cow. But one thing is certain, developers who actually co-develop or develop, from the ground up on Wii U's hardware, will benefit and outshine these atrocities.

Almost every single console launch, has had games that are ports from either last gen or current gen titles that stink, however every console has also had games that are developed, either from first or third-party developers, that have jaw dropping graphics and/or gameplay mechanics, that are not possible on the other.

This is just the start; we will see some great games that are exclusively done on the Wii U that you won't be able to get anywhere else, we will see graphics that won't be able to be done on any other console till next-gen rolls around, and we will see games with unique gameplay functionality that can only be found on Wii U. People can get mad all they want but the reality is, when a system launches, buyer beware, there will be games on that system that were made simply to make a quick buck!

Ok, So I read stuff like this, and then I read things like what Gearbox says about Alien, and the Wii U version is going to look and Run better than on PS3 and the 360 so what gives?????? http://www.nintendolife.com...

I am not expecting any miracles with wii U but for the price and some decent first party games I will throw my money down for it until the next xbox and ps3 come out. I have no delusion it will out power those kits but - hey, I will get my moneys worth out of it until they come out.